Baltimore Orioles pitcher Dylan Bundy appeared on MLB Network’s Hot Stove to talk about what he has been up to this offseason, including his throwing routine and other topics.

Bundy is an avid hunter during the offseason, often spending his time in a tree stand, waiting for his prey to come within range.

“That’s basically what I do during the first two months of the offseason,” Bundy said to MLB Network’s Matt Vasgersian. “It’s 60 days, so I was in the stand for about 40-45 days.”

The 25-year old starting pitcher has went down with Tommy John surgery in 2013, to repair his ulnar collateral ligament and in 2015, he dealt with a shoulder calcification. In 2016, Bundy was on an innings limit when he made his return to the Orioles, only pitching 109.2 innings, mostly in relief (14 starts, 36 appearances). In 2017, it was his first season as a full-time starter, where he pitched 169.2 innings (28 starts), with a 13-9 record, 4.24 ERA and a 1.196 WHIP.

This offseason, Bundy has been able to work on his throwing routine with a clean bill of health and a full season of starting under his belt.

“Usually I’ll start running and working out a little bit before I start throwing, just to get the body moving and what not,” said Bundy. “I’ll start throwing a week before Christmas or so.”

Despite being a young pitcher, Bundy is one of the two starters who are destined for the rotation. This season is one in which he will take a leadership role with Kevin Gausman, who is just 27 years old himself.

“No, I don’t feel any pressure in that regard,” Bundy said to Harold Reynolds, who asked if the pitcher felt pressure to lead the staff. “In a way, it’s a different type of Spring, not having the guys that we had in the past. I think me and Gausman will be leaning on each other quite a bit this year.”

The fourth-year starter out of Owasso High School in Oklahoma relied more on his slider as time went on during the season. According to Brooks Baseball, Bundy’s slider usage steadily increased after initially falling off at the beginning of the season.

“Yeah, I think it’ll be a big pitch again this year,” said Bundy. “But obviously, more hitters are gonna know about it and have video on it, so I definitely want to bring back the changeup and curveball a little bit more to the repertoire going forward.”

(Photo Credit: Getty Images/Brian Blanco)

Kyle Andrews

Born in Norfolk, VA, raised in the Baltimore area and currently living there. Originally pursuing a degree in exercise science at McDaniel, Andrews became interested in sports writing. He was the sports editor of McDaniel's newspaper in 2014 and became an English major, and hasn't looked back since.

Bylines at Fox Sports 1340 AM, Bullets Forever, Baltimore Beatdown, Underdog Dynasty and many other sites.